Smoking Ban

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT SMOKING BAN

Ban should not blanket Burbank In response to the Burbank Leader article on Jan. 31 ("Council likes smoking ban"): The Burbank City Council should not ban smoking in open-air, non-closed areas. We have had enough of the benevolent-order-of-bosombeaters gadflies who feign indignation and offense at each and everything of which they disapprove. Furthermore, I resent officious meddlers from Calabasas, etc., appearing before the Burbank City Council to seek to influence the affairs of Burbank.

BURBANK — City officials are having trouble enforcing a new law that limits smoking in some outdoor areas. The law bars smoking in outdoor dining areas, parts of downtown Burbank, the Chandler Bikeway, city parks and facilities, outdoor events and public transit stations. But since the law took effect, the city has received many calls and e-mails from residents complaining that it is not being enforced, City Manager Mary Alvord said. Part of the problem is that local business owners and managers are put in the difficult position of having to tell longtime customers that they can no longer smoke in restaurants and cafés, she said.

As 19-year-old Jon Little crossed Magnolia Boulevard on Dec. 10, cigarette in hand, he failed to notice the police officer on Olive Avenue. As he crossed the street, Little, a student at Antelope Valley College, was cited and fined $200 for smoking in Downtown Burbank, a violation of the citywide smoking ban that bars smoking on all sidewalks, alleys and other pedestrian areas Downtown, as well as on city property, including Chandler Bikeway and...

Assembling the perfect City Council — especially during a time of national economic crisis — can be a difficult task. One is tempted sometimes to rely on experienced members, but new faces can provide a city with a needed shot in the arm. Charisma and diplomacy are important qualities for any politician, but on the other hand, it can take a tough watchdog to effect important change on the dais. Fortunately, a five-member council allows for a mix of personalities — the only challenge is finding the right mix. With that in mind, the Burbank Leader endorses Dave Golonski, David Gordon and Jess Talamantes for the City Council.

CITY HALL — A time-tested and unavoidable adage accompanied the City Council's second reading Tuesday of an ordinance banning outdoor smoking in parts of Burbank: The devil is in the details. The ordinance on the table, which was set to be finalized Tuesday, would prohibit smoking in several areas in Burbank, including parts of downtown, public outdoor restaurant dining areas and the Chandler Bikeway. The council had not yet voted as of press time, but city staffers were on deck to lay out the ramifications of putting the ordinance into effect, which would, in some cases, present a complicated set of variables.

CITY HALL — The City Council earmarked funds Tuesday for parking enforcement and a new city position that would educate local businesses about the city's ban on smoking in certain areas as a part of the proposed 2007-08 fiscal budget that is up for council approval next week. On top of $790,000 in programs already up for approval — which include unfreezing two Burbank Police Department officer positions and three Fire Department positions — the council put $100,000 in a holding account that would be used to fund new parking control tools.